Another mostly drab week of summer sports programming gives me another opportunity to look forward to the fast-approaching football season.

High school: Well, it’s pretty much here. We have about five Week Zero games on Friday, including two on television. Byrnes visits Northwestern at 6 p.m. on ESPNU, while Gaffney travels to Union County at 7:30 on WMYA 40. Our first full Friday night of action will be Aug. 29.

College: There’s actually a FCS game this Saturday afternoon, but the season kicks off for real on Thursday, Aug. 28. South Carolina is in its usual spot of playing in the Thursday night season opener, this year hosting Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on the new SEC Network. That channel, which should be available to everyone who’s paying for at least a medium level of programming, will air two games on Thursday, three on Saturday and one on Sunday. The marquee game of the opening weekend is No. 16 Clemson visiting No. 12 Georgia at 5:30 p.m. that Saturday, Aug. 30. And as usual, the opening weekend runs all the way through a Monday night game on Labor Day, this year with Miami visiting Louisville.

NFL: We’re about two or three weeks away from the pros kicking off. The Thursday night opener Sept. 4 has Green Bay visiting Seattle, with the first full Sunday of action on Sept. 7.